![Hank Bonecutter Hank Bonecutter](https://www.clarksvilleonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bonecutter.jpg)
I thought I’d seen and heard everything, until I heard about Synthetic Drugs. Synthetic drugs are substances that are produced in a laboratory from chemical reactions unlike naturally occurring drugs. Their structure can be chemically indentical to natural drugs like cocaine and opium. However, they are often created to either enhance the effects of other natural drugs or to prevent unwanted side effects.
The members of the ecstasy group are also classified as “designer drugs”. They are structurally related to a controlled drug and produce certain psychoactive effects. They are made on the basis of the chemical structure of a given parent drug, and made specifically for sale on the illegal market to bypass regulations on controlled substances.
Recently, the Clarksville City Council passed an ordinance banning the sale of these substances. For example, what’s commonly known as “plant food” or “bath salts” is really 4-Meo-PCP, Bay Spice SO or something similar. This is one small way to keep the drugs from being readily available, “over the counter”. (and I can’t buy a sudafed if I have a cold without going through a TSA patdown).
This week, the Montgomery County Commission failed to pass a resolution basically doing the same thing the city did, except applying to the county. I don’t know why it failed, and I don’t care. They have enough trouble as it is dealing with the school system. The point is, this is a real problem and it’s not limited to what you can buy here. I could go on and on about the county commission, but I won’t. I wish they had made a statement, but they didn’t. Typical.
Synthetic drugs are so readily available on the internet it boggles the mind. At one website (which shall remain nameless), users can buy 736 different drugs, including 27 types of cocaine, 81 psychedelics, and 269 varieties of marijuana. A gram of brown heroin was recently priced at $171.34. Mind boggling. I would be so paranoid that I was connecting with the DEA. I wouldn’t sleep for weeks, (or until my stash arrived).
The government says they are “proactive” in fighting online drug sales. Really? Then shut the websites down. Arrest those peddling death to our country and stop this cancer from killing kids. But, here’s a thought. Why don’t we get our act together, and stop depending on these drugs to escape from whatever problem we’re having? Get high on life. Get high on your family and friends. Don’t expect the government to regulate your sanity. Synthetic drugs will kill you like anything else, and so will the internet.
(Some facts from the Minnesota Star Tribune report, 9/11/11)